Disney closes Epic Mickey creator Junction Point Studios

Those hoping for an Epic Mickey 3 have had their hopes dashed today, as Disney Interactive has announced the closure of developer Junction Point studios.

Junction Point was founded in 2005 by Warren Spector, the well-known developer behind popular PC stealth titles like Thief and Deus Ex. So it seemed like an odd fit when Disney bought the studio in 2007 and set it to work on a platforming franchise starring its premiere character.

But Spector himself said he never saw a fundamental difference between the Epic Mickey games and his classic titles. "Every problem can be addressed in multiple ways [in Epic Mickey 2]," he told Ars Technica in an interview last year. "The puzzle is not 'How do I solve this problem?' The puzzle is 'How do I manipulate the environment in a way that's going to get me more of what I want, so I get to do more of what I like to do.'... it's just like Deus Ex. You apply a little logic, and after a while you sort of learn the rules of the world and the game..."

Released in late 2010, the first Epic Mickey sold 1.3 million units in its first month, despite mediocre reviews that called it out for poor camera control. The second game fared much worse last holiday season, moving just over a quarter of a million units in its first month, which likely contributed to the studio's closure.

"It was with much sadness that we informed our teams today of changes to our Games organization, which include the closure of Junction Point Studios," the company said in a statement. "These changes are part of our ongoing effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace and to align resources against our key priorities. We're extremely grateful to Warren Spector and the Junction Point team for their creative contributions to Disney with Disney Epic Mickey and Disney Epic Mickey 2."

Back when Disney bought Lucasfilm last October, CEO Bob Iger said the company was "likely to focus more on social and mobile than we are on console," licensing properties to outside developers for living room play. Earlier this month, Disney announced Disney Infinity, a Skylanders-style games incorporating figures from a new collectible toy line featuring many of its most famous properties.

I think the problem here is limited console release for the first game (just the Wii if I recall?). I was really interested at the time, but as a PS3 owner I was out of luck. By the time 2 came with a multi-console release, I didn't hear a word about it until I noticed it one day. While my first thought was "finally!", my second was "oh, but I haven't played the first one" and passed. Sucks the studio had to pay the price of bad calls and seemingly bad marketing.

I am as well. Pretty good variety of puzzles to solve, and still be engaging for both me (veteran gamer) and my younger son. Both Epic Mickeys have been really good supplements to teach him problem solving skills.

The first one sold very well, but also had a lot of issues - stuff like the paint mechanic being based around the Wii remote but never working very well. So when the sequel arrived with few of those issues addressed, it's no wonder the game tanked and took the developer with it.

I think the problem here is limited console release for the first game (just the Wii if I recall?). I was really interested at the time, but as a PS3 owner I was out of luck. By the time 2 came with a multi-console release, I didn't hear a word about it until I noticed it one day. While my first thought was "finally!", my second was "oh, but I haven't played the first one" and passed. Sucks the studio had to pay the price of bad calls and seemingly bad marketing.

This. I didn't know Epic Mickey 2 was cross platform, I figured it was Wii only like the first. Looked good but I never got around to trying it.

The controls in the first one were problematic, but passable. The second one was god awful. It wasn't really much improved, but the main problem was that they made certain puzzles that just did not work well with the controls. It was infuriatingly frustrating. Add that on top of little marketing and I am not surprised at all.

Sad; I like Disney characters and wish the game had turned out better. Still plan to get it when it hits the bargain bin.

Edit: a great read about how Disney uses video game to re-introduce Oswald Rabbit to the world, and gives it a voice for the first time ever (warning: you'll be more sad about the studio closing if you read the article)

Can't say I'm surprised... Epic Mickey 2 was a real disappointment, primarily because they really didn't fix any of the controller-smashingly-frustrating problems with the first one. Same imprecise controls, same terrible camera, same dull plot, same quest goals that were either painfully obvious or completely obscure with no middle ground.

They had such a golden chance to start fresh with a fantastic game, but chose not to and instead made a lazy rehash of the first that's just as dull and uninspiring.

Epic Mickey 1 and 2 are the most joyless games I've ever had the misfortune to play, if that makes any sense.

I always thought that Epic Mickey was distinctly out of character for a Disney property -- so I suppose it doesn't surprise me to learn that it was developed by a company famous for a first-person shooter. The target audience for most Mickey Mouse and related properties is fairly young, but the target audience of the "Epic" games is most assuredly not a match to the same group. Honestly, I couldn't even allow my very young kids to finish the game, because aspects of it became too "spooky" for their young psyche... when my eldest (who is ten years old) told me that she'd had nightmares after trying to beat one particular level, that was it. I shelved the game, and the kids haven't touched it since.

IMHO, I'm probably not the only person to express such sentiments, and I'd imagine this played a part in both the customer reception for the sequel (which I did not buy for these very reasons) and in the eventual death knell for Junction Point.

As an adult gamer who enjoyed Deus Ex when it was released, I think it's a crying shame that such a talented group was killed off in this fashion... but now, as a parent who's seen the fruits of their relationship with Disney, I can't say that I'm surprised at this result.

It's nice that they took a risk and tried to make some original games and it sucks to see a game developer paying for that... but why, oh why, did they take a risk to make THESE games? OK, let's do something really creative -- A CREEPY MICKEY MOUSE PLATFORMER!!!! If you're going to take risks, why not make a game that has at least SOME chance of being taken seriously?

Epic Mickey was considerably less epic then Kingdom Hearts.My wife started playing the game, but apparently the focus just kind of evaporated halfway through the game.Then they advertised Epic Mickey 2, and tried pushing it with the tag line "The power of two!" Um... yeah. That isn't going to push sales.

I always thought that Epic Mickey was distinctly out of character for a Disney property -- so I suppose it doesn't surprise me to learn that it was developed by a company famous for a first-person shooter. The target audience for most Mickey Mouse and related properties is fairly young, but the target audience of the "Epic" games is most assuredly not a match to the same group. Honestly, I couldn't even allow my very young kids to finish the game, because aspects of it became too "spooky" for their young psyche... when my eldest (who is ten years old) told me that she'd had nightmares after trying to beat one particular level, that was it. I shelved the game, and the kids haven't touched it since.

A. Dunno about you, but I don't consider 10 to be "very young" - yes, I know you probably didn't mean her when you said that, but you may as well have considering how you apparently treat her (see my next point).

B. If a video game that doesn't involve blood and guts or take things to the level of "The Sixth Sense" (or similar) in terms of spookiness can scare your TEN year old THAT much, then I suspect you are far too overprotective for your child's own good. In fact, your reaction ("shelving" the game) pretty much confirms it. Of course there's always the possibility she was just trying to play on your sympathies since she knows how you are, but -- being only ten -- didn't foresee how far you would take your obsessive need to protect her.

For the record, my nine-year-old loved both games and still plays them for hours on end.

I always thought that Epic Mickey was distinctly out of character for a Disney property -- so I suppose it doesn't surprise me to learn that it was developed by a company famous for a first-person shooter. The target audience for most Mickey Mouse and related properties is fairly young, but the target audience of the "Epic" games is most assuredly not a match to the same group. Honestly, I couldn't even allow my very young kids to finish the game, because aspects of it became too "spooky" for their young psyche... when my eldest (who is ten years old) told me that she'd had nightmares after trying to beat one particular level, that was it. I shelved the game, and the kids haven't touched it since.

A. Dunno about you, but I don't consider 10 to be "very young" - yes, I know you probably didn't mean her when you said that, but you may as well have considering how you apparently treat her (see my next point).

B. If a video game that doesn't involve blood and guts or take things to the level of "The Sixth Sense" (or similar) in terms of spookiness can scare your TEN year old THAT much, then I suspect you are far too overprotective for your child's own good. In fact, your reaction ("shelving" the game) pretty much confirms it. Of course there's always the possibility she was just trying to play on your sympathies since she knows how you are, but -- being only ten -- didn't foresee how far you would take your obsessive need to protect her.

For the record, my nine-year-old loved both games and still plays them for hours on end.

Don't be TOO hard on him. Every kid is different-- some are more sensitive. Helicopter parenting or prudish values might not necessarily be the back story.

I have a 10 year old-- I suspect she's more like your 9-year old. We've had the swear talk (I used specific words and explained what they mean) and we've seen a few movies together that were a little gory (Robocop 2), but we talked about it afterwards. She chooses not to swear, but she loves J-Pop so much I don't doubt she'll come across a few mangas or animes that are inappropriate.

A little off-topic, I know, but we are actually poor enough that we can't afford consoles, actually. She gets her fill well enough at her aunt and uncle's, or friends, etc. While I'm inclined to say, "Yeah, you're right, no parent can shelter their kid forever!" (and believe me, I've seen TONS of examples of how that can go bad, dated one before I got married) I'm also a little loathe to judge a parent too harshly myself.

There are much more embarassing and sad public examples that are more worthy of my attention.

Disney acquired Junction Point, but now is closing it. Why didn't they just put it up for sale? Or did they, and the closure is a response to finding no buyers?

@CaptainTightpants:I'm going to co-sign jaklumen, and say that one should generally err on the side of not criticizing others' parenting techniques. Mine's only 13 months old, but I've already seen enough difference between my approach and that of my "peer parents" (and gotten some ridiculous/nigh-insulting "advice" from non-parents) to know better

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in Pittsburgh, PA.